Personal information services provide users with effective and convenient ways to communicate with others and to manage their personal information. Users typically interact with personal information services through user interfaces provided by associated personal information applications, such as email applications, calendar applications, and task management applications, as well as combinations and variations thereof. Some representative personal information applications and services include Microsoft® Outlook®, Outlook® Web App (OWA), Hotmail®, Gmail®, and Yahoo® Mail, as well as others.
When engaged with a personal information service, a user may interact with various personal information items via a user interface to the service. Examples of such items include emails, contacts, calendar items, tasks, and the like. In a typical scenario, a user's personal information items are stored in a personal information database, such as a mailbox, that is accessed as the user interacts with the application.
Most personal information applications present personal information items in a variety of panels. In an email example, a user interface includes an inbox panel in which emails are arranged, while content associated with any of the emails can be viewed in a viewing panel. Other panels are possible, such as a navigation panel in which various folders are presented along with representations of other application modules.
In addition, most personal information applications include an action menu in which several action features are available. Any of the action features can be applied to any one or more of the items in an inbox that are identified as subject to the action features. In a brief example, a user may select a group of emails and then select a delete feature from an action menu to delete the group of emails. In another example, a user may select a group of emails and then select a move feature from an action menu to move the group of emails.
Action menus are typically presented in a horizontal arrangement, aligned above the inbox and viewing panels. However, they may also be accessed by performing a right-click or some other discrete step after having selected one or more items.